Friday, October 4, 2013

INSIGHT-Saudi Arabia boosts Salafist rivals to al Qaeda in Syria


By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
AMMAN, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Alarmed by the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, Saudi Arabia is trying to strengthen rival Islamists with ties to Riyadh and this week helped engineer a consolidation of rebel groups around Damascus under a Saudi-backed leader.
That might bolster the opposition militarily as President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been pushing back, but it also underlines al Qaeda's expansion in Syria - and the proliferation of splits among Assad's enemies, just as world powers are trying to corral them into talks with his government.
at

4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 5, 2013 at 8:33 PM

    Hi Tgia, so glad to see you are posting, again.
    I hope your son has regained his good health.

    Have you seen this:

    "Art experts believe a new portrait by Leonardo da Vinci may have been discovered thanks to a 500-year-old fingerprint."

    http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/oct/13/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-discovered

    vza

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thankgodimatheistOctober 6, 2013 at 9:37 PM

      Thank you vza. Yes he's out of the danger zone but still needs regular check-ups. Long story.
      Yes, I read the news yesterday and I was as excited as a child getting new shoes. I was familiar with the painting (more accurately chalk and ink) having stumbled on it in the early days of controversy about its attribution and I felt then that it could well be a stunning Leonardo. It's uniquely beautiful.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 5, 2013 at 8:40 PM

    Oops! Wrong article. This is the one I meant to post:

    "Locked up in a Swiss vault, among many items in a family's private collection, the portrait of Isabella d’Este remained hidden from the world. The owners of the artwork likely did not know even know what they had on their hands."

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/04/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-found-identified_n_4044295.htm

    ReplyDelete
  3. Palestine LivesOctober 8, 2013 at 9:54 PM

    Seems like 21st august gas attack by rebel terrorists backfired and all of a sudden they crumble like cookies.

    ReplyDelete